04 June 2026
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Hidden above a cozy wine bar in Ho Chi Minh City, Upstairs has just a handful of tables and is home to one of the city’s most exciting restaurants, where a young Vietnamese chef reimagines the flavors of Vietnam through refreshingly refined modern cooking.
As the country’s culinary capital continues to lead the country’s dining movement with the highest number of MICHELIN-Star restaurants, Ho Chi Minh City thrives on creativity, ambition, and bold new ideas. Upstairs captures that spirit perfectly.
In Thao Dien, Ho Chi Minh City’s leafy expat pocket of stylish cafés and boundary-pushing restaurants, Upstairs had been on the Inspector’s radar since it quietly opened in late 2024. Founder Long Tran was already something of a golden child in Vietnam’s fine dining circles, with acclaimed projects like Gia or Little Bear building serious momentum across the region. Add in the steady buzz from local chefs and industry insiders, and the sense of anticipation around Upstairs only grew louder.
Join a MICHELIN Inspector on a journey through a year of quiet observation at Upstairs, a brand-new restaurant earning a MICHELIN Star in the 2026 selection.
Arrival
Upstairs sits above Little Bear, and you have to look up to catch the sign. In a neighborhood buzzing with cafés and restaurants, the space feels intimate and quietly confident. The breeze that evening felt almost cool by Saigon standards. Inside, the calm, soft-toned interior immediately stands out. Just a handful of tables face the semi-open kitchen, where chefs move with sharp focus while still offering warm smiles and subtle eye contact.“There is no sweeping city view competing for attention here. Instead, the softly lit room keeps the focus inward, giving the space an understated elegance that feels contemporary without trying too hard. The sounds of grilling, boiling, and plating blend into the gentle jazz humming in the background. It feels intimate, polished, and relaxed all at once.”
The Team
The dining room runs on a kind of youthful precision. The staff are sharply dressed and effortlessly bilingual, yet the atmosphere never loses its ease.“There’s clearly strong leadership behind the scenes shaping the service culture. What was so impressive was how natural everything felt. The chefs occasionally came out to explain dishes, but the experience never became stiff or overly scripted.”
Perched above a casual wine bar, Upstairs pairs its cooking with a thoughtful wine program focused on boutique producers and smaller wineries. Around 30 wines are available by the glass, spanning natural wines, orange wines, Champagne, saké, and fortified pours.
“The sommelier was excellent. Young, knowledgeable, and flexible. Instead of following a standard pairing, she created something more personal around our preferences, even offering side-by-side Pinot Noir tastings from different regions to compare. Vietnam’s younger generation of sommeliers has become incredibly exciting in recent years, and Upstairs reflects that shift beautifully.”
The Meal
While the wine program is led by My Trần, the kitchen is spearheaded by Head Chef Hiệp Trương, a 31-year-old from Huế in Central Vietnam. Before Upstairs, he worked as chef de cuisine at Little Bear downstairs. But Upstairs is no sequel. The restaurant moves to its own rhythm, trading theatrics for something more restrained, intimate, and quietly self-assured.The cooking reimagines Vietnamese cuisine through local produce, traditional recipes, and modern cooking techniques, while remaining unmistakably Vietnamese at heart.
“The menu is clean and simple, but for curious diners, the team naturally reveals thoughtful details, from handcrafted show plates shaped like local mountains to utensil rests inspired by rice terraces.”
The 13-course tasting menu also offers optional add-ons such as bò kho, a rich and aromatic Vietnamese beef stew beloved by regulars. Yet the dish that captivated our Inspector, almost like love at first bite, was gỏi bò cà: a Wagyu beef layered with fish sauce, baby eggplants, egg yolk, and fragrant herbs, inspired by the classic Vietnamese beef and eggplant salad.
This amuse-bouche has been on the menu since day one. It remains not only because guests love it, but because it holds deep personal meaning for the chef. It goes beyond flavor. It carries stories in a bite-sized form.
“A delicate pie tee shell held Wagyu beef tartare seasoned with fish sauce and fresh herbs, layered with silky baby eggplant purée and rich egg yolk. What made it memorable was the way everything met at once, the richness of the beef and yolk, the earthiness of the eggplant, and the brightness of herbs and fish sauce. It felt deeply Vietnamese, yet strikingly elegant.”
Another standout was a dish inspired by cá nấu mẻ, the traditional Vietnamese sour fish soup cooked with fermented rice.
“Upstairs presents a refined reimagining that stays true to the dish’s comforting spirit. A beautifully prepared red-spotted grouper takes center stage, delicately steamed to preserve its natural sweetness and tender texture. The silky broth, infused with house-fermented rice, brings a rounded acidity that beautifully complements the fish.”
Pickled mussels added subtle umami depth, while dill oil and fresh dill lifted the dish with brightness and gentle herbal notes. Light, soothing, and subtly refined, it captured the restaurant’s gift for translating heritage into something contemporary yet emotionally grounded.
Conclusion
Rather than chasing Western influences or experimental theatrics, Chef Hiệp Trương looks inward, drawing deeply from Vietnam’s culinary heritage with quiet conviction and clarity of vision. The result feels sincere and refreshingly self-assured. At Upstairs, food, wine, and service fall into place naturally, without gimmicks or overworked storytelling.More importantly, the restaurant reflects a larger shift in Vietnam’s dining scene, where a new generation of chefs and sommeliers is telling Vietnamese stories with sharper technique, stronger identity, and bold clarity. Upstairs captures that energy perfectly: young, ambitious, and deeply considered.
“What stayed with me most was the restaurant’s confidence without arrogance. Nothing felt forced. The team trusted the ingredients, the stories, and their own instincts. Upstairs does not try to imitate Europe or chase trends. It feels proudly Vietnamese through a modern lens, and restaurants like this are exactly why Vietnam’s dining scene feels so exciting right now.”
Tips:
- Book ahead. With only a handful of tables, seats fill up quickly.
- The optional add-on dishes are worth exploring if you want to dive deeper into the kitchen’s creativity, though the core tasting menu already feels thoughtfully complete on its own.
- Trust the sommelier. Rather than sticking rigidly to standard pairings, ask the sommelier to tailor selections around personal preferences and may even pour something a little off-script and special if you’re curious enough to ask.
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